Photo Galleries

Video Galleries

My name. Your space.

Well, it’s been a long time coming, but we’re up and running now.I hope you enjoy the new look and feel of www.queenrania.jo.

It might have my name on it, but this is your space too. It’s a place where you can contact me directly…give me feedback… post photos… blog back…debate ideas…be part of a global campaign…suggest things for me to do and see…learn more about education…exchange information…and take action on issues we both care about it.

I will like to categorically say without looking back that we all totally support your noble cause and your unwavering ideals of promoting the noble cause of children globally.

We know that your glorious ideals and what 1 GOAL : EDUCATION FOR ALL INITIATIVE truly stands for will not only benefit millions of people in this generation but will also last for many generations to come.

We also know without any fear or doubt that both God and man, and all those whose heart beats for the true love of children will unconditionally totally support and embrace such life changing vision that is meant to positively affect millions of lives and truly meant to touch humanity forever for the better.

Please allow me to share with you a very special work entitled “1 GOAL: EDUCATION FOR ALL” as part of my own little contribution to the incredible glorious ideals that you dear Queen Rania and 1 Goal: Education For All truly stands for.

1 GOAL: EDUCATION FOR ALL

1 Goal : Education For All
The common dream we all have
Our true love for the children of the world
The common bond that we all share
Education for all
Our undying passion for the upliftment of the children of the world
When we educate the children
They become an asset not only to their countries and the world
But we also produce the next generations greats
In year 2015
Our dreams shall come true
And together with the people of the world
It shall become a reality
With the support from Fifa, Politicians, World leaders, Musicians, Footballers
And all those that have true love for children and for mankind
And with the special love and favour of God
We shall together truly excel
’Cause we know that the children of the world
Are too precious and valuable for the world to ignore
The glorious future of the children is too important
For us to toy with
And their today is too important
That we must help them today in every way we can
We know that with 1 Goal: Education For All Initiative
We can give the children great hope for tomorrow
And the chance to live their dreams to the fullest
There is no better time than now to support 1 GOAL
And all the noble things that concerns children
1 GOAL : EDUCATION FOR ALL INITIATIVE
Our passion for the children of the world
Has truly touch Heaven
-Francis Titus King

Once again thanks for championing the cause of children which remain very dear to your heart, thanks for setting up the 1 Goal: Education For All Initiative as a very great vehicle of transformation and positive impact in the lives of the children and thanks for everything.

God bless you, the 1 Goal: Education For All Initiative, the 1 Goal Team and all that concerns you.

It is perhaps amusing that so many people within the various religions of the world teach that someday the entire world will convert to their religion. Can they all be correct? Why is this teaching so prevalent in so many different religions? Quite simply it is because so many people believe that their religion is the one and only true path to G-d. In some respects this reminds me of school children on the playground who say to one another "My Daddy can whip your Daddy," only with adults the phrase becomes "My G-d can whip your G-d."

While this immaturity among proponents of faiths is amusing it becomes tragic when extremists of various faiths feel that they must use discrimination, force and violence to persuade others that their religion is the one and only true religion and that their G-d is the one and only true G-d. The use of discrimination, force and violence only proves that the proponent doubts his own faith because if he really believed that his G-d was the one true G-d then he would not feel the need to prove this; instead, he would believe that his G-d was powerful enough to accomplish His objectives without the use of discrimination, force and violence. G-d must weep over such manifestations of hatred and violence in His name. In every major religion G-d is shown to be a G-d of love. How and why then do so many people convert His message to one of hatred, discrimination and violence?

As I was jogging this evening I thought of an amusing story line wherein there were two young boys, Sayed the son of a cleric from Palestine and Ari the son of a rabbi from Israel. The year was 2034 according to the Gregorian Calendar. There had been no hostilities between the Province of Israel and the Province of Palestine in many years. The boys had met in a cultural exchange program at the age of 5 and thereafter became the best of friends. Their greatest awakening came at the age of 7 however when they ordered DNA tests to find out how closely their ancestory could be linked, only to discover that their Y-DNA matched perfectly on high marker tests. In fact, their DNA was so close that they could have had a common male ancestor as recently as within the last 5 generations. In honor of their newly found brotherhood, they took an oath that they would from that day forward be as brothers.

During their days playing together, they discovered and explored an ancient abandoned tunnel that passed under the wall that once separated the two provinces of Israel and Palestine. Unbenownst to the boys it remained a felony under an unrevoked antiquated statute to enter a "tunnel" if that tunnel had ever been used to transport weapons or engage in any act of terrorism. As if carrying out this continuing felony were not enough trouble for two young adventurous scientists, their ultimate mischief came when they brought their sisters into this strange cross-cultural cousinhood. :)

Dear Queen Rania,
Please excuse my sidebar dicussion with Mr. Rigsby. I thought his comments and observations would be insightful and they were. You have spoken on many occasions, and in particular I am thinking of your discussion at Yale, of the need for people to learn empathy; to learn what it feels like to walk in someone else's shoes.

There was a movie in the United States many years ago called "Black Like Me." The setting was 1959 when racial prejudice in the US was at an all time high. The main character, John Howard Griffin, underwent medical treatment to become black so that he could understand what it feels like to be a black man in the US in 1959. Although the movie was a comedy it was an "eye opener" for many people at that time. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/blacklikeme/summary.html

As Mr. Rigsby said below, ". . .we may always seek to understand other perspectives and allow those who hold their own values highly to express them. Morever, it is much like the philosophy of Karen Armstrong and Martha Crenshaw. In short treating others as we would ourself want to be treated is the first in-road to mutual respect."

It was the philosopher John Stuart Mill who said that we should learn to listen to opposing views because in so doing we learn about flaws in our own views and/or learn how to reinforce what we believe. Another reason for listening to others' views is to understand what it means to walk in another person's shoes as Mr. Griffin in the movie "Black Like Me." The need to be empathetic is what seems to be missing in much of the world today. In 1959, the time of the setting of "Black Like Me" most people thought that racial prejudice in the US was unresolvable. Today we have a black man in the White House. Even when the situation seems hopeless, there is always hope. The same is true with the Israeli/Palestinian crisis. There is always hope and the solution is within reach if we reach for it. Thank you for all you are doing in Jordan and in the Middle East.

Thank you for your interest. Dialogue is key to groups and collectives of people understanding each other. I see in Queen Rania's initiative the burning desire to introduce people of different cultures at a level of learning. While people will most probably always be labeled by "objective" criteria that define their group, we must come (it is critical) to understand that while we may not always agree, we may always seek to understand other perspectives and allow those who hold their own values highly to express them. Morever, it is much like the philosophy of Karen Armstrong and Martha Crenshaw. In short treating others as we would ourself want to be treated is the first in-road to mutual respect. In this is the setting by which then we may extend our hand to others and produce positive results. Too often we make judgments based upon secondary information. I have found through out my long life that when I meet people of other cultures first hand, that most of the "publicized" depictions of these people and cultures are not accurate. In a world that is no longer hindered by distance and time we must come to grip with the need to allow free public space and forums of promoting understanding of each other's cultures, values and beliefs. Education and migration is a primary means to this end. We may always remain a social that differentiates its values, norms and beliefs, but we must seek to allow space to enjoy these differences while also allowing for other beliefs. This is crucial to accomodating each other. While arguments have be propounded that depict a clash of cultures it has also been noted that when cultures understand their basic commonalities near proximity need "not lead to clash but rather to cooperation". Education is a public forum for understanding basic commonalitites we all share, irregardless whether we are western, eastern, southern, northern, or which ever religion we profess. Perhaps Rousseau had more on point than some ascertain. Dialogue is crucial to exposing "better ideas" and promoting them to a world of many cultures. In this way perhaps some of the arbitrary boundaries of past colonialism will be blurred not just in the Middle East but worldwide.

rigsbyML,
I noticed your post in the JEI group discussion and I am curious, what do you see that attracts you to Jordan? I see education as the tool for eradicating many of the problems of the world from poverty to discrimination and I wonder if you see it in Queen Rania's vision as well.

Two years ago I had the opportunity to visit Jordan. I am interested in coming to Jordan to live and teach. Is there a current exchange program for teachers? I live in the U.S. I have a Law degree and am completing my PhD in Sociology. I have a Texas secondary education license and 20 years of applied experience. I currently teach. Thank you for any information.

It’s a great honour that in this day and age we can write directly to a Queen such as yourself. I am following your suggestion, that I read on your blog “My name. Your space”, by contacting you directly, and I thank you so for this opportunity.

I wish to express all my admiration for what you do and for the way you do it.
I agree with all the projects you are developing, especially those concerning education, mainly for the Arab world and particularly for your own country.

I wish authoritative and powerful people did the same in other countries, including mine, Italy, where it seems education is still not a real opportunity open to everybody. This is, of course, because of many reasons, which I don’t want to get into now.

Even though I’m almost 44, I’m taking a degree in Communications, as I believe, as you do, that education is an opportunity, always, even in my situation (I lost my job after I worked for 20 years as an air hostess for Alitalia, the Italian airline).
This seemed to me to be the best way to face this problem, to be able to start something new, from the beginning, with a new qualification.

To finish the degree I have to write a thesis on a subject chosen by my university teacher and myself, which is about “Women, communication, power and mass media”.
We want to analyze three very special women, from three different historical periods, and their relationship with the mass media.
These three special and very powerful women are Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Lady Diana Princess of Wales and Your majesty Queen Rania of Jordan.
This idea came about from observing your way of communicating, so modern and successful, so close to those you care about, children and women, and to those who can actually be helpful, politicians and powerful people.

Undoubtedly the three of you have different characteristics, but, each one in your own time, are also a precious and unique example of the combination of skill, beauty, generosity, power and successful communication, and of how all this can be beneficially put to use to endorse other people’s rights, rather than just keeping all these gifts for yourselves.

It has been quite easy to find books and other reliable information and biographies on Princess Diana and on Empress Sissy.

I would be grateful if you could suggest any source where I could find useful and reliable biographical information, knowledge about your communicational activity, and your opinion on the way women use mass media.
I also dare to wonder whether I could use this means of communication to ask you some questions, in a sort of interview, seeing as you’ll be the main important character of my thesis.
Any other suggestions or thoughts are most welcome.

I thank you very much for any kind attention you may pay to my requests.
With great admiration and respect,
Yours sincerely
Fabrizia Atzori